Page 133 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“I didn’t mean it like that, Cole,” I added quickly. “I know the circumstances were?—”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he said, but I could tell it wasn’t fine. “I wasn’t there for you or Ashton. These guys were. I get it.” When he smiled, I could see bitter shame in his eyes. My heart hurt for him.

Langston rose from his seat. “Listen, we don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Youaren’t,” I insisted.

“I’m not sure about that,” Cole said, glaring at Langston.

A frustrated sigh escaped me, and I shot an angry look at Cole. This was exhausting.

“We’ll get a room somewhere. I saw a little bed-and-breakfast in town on our way in. I bet they have a few rooms free,” Langston said.

“Yeah,” Cole said. “Maybe that would be best.”

Langston’s shoulders sagged. “My man, I don’t know what issue you have with me and my friends, but Avery’s right. You need to get that ego in check.”

Cole let out a deep, rumbling growl—an obvious threat.

Langston chuckled ruefully. “You need to stop before you embarrass yourself even more than you already have.”

Before Cole could respond, Langston called down the hall, “Zayde, let’s go. We’re leaving.”

The other man appeared a few seconds later, carrying his stuff as he came back into the living room.

“What’s up?” Zayde asked, shoving his computer back into his bag.

Langston tilted his head in Cole’s direction. “There’s only room for one alpha in this house. We’re gonna get a room in town.”

Zayde’s eyes bounced from Cole, standing with rigid lips peeled back, back to Langston. “All right,” Zayde muttered. “Sounds good.”

He stood and hurried out the door, obviously hustling to get out of the tension-filled room.

Langston turned to Trent. “If we find anything, I’ll make sure to keepyouupdated,” he said, making sure we all knew he meant Trent and not Cole.

“Yeah, cool,” Trent muttered. He looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“See you later, Avery,” Langston said as he headed outside. I heard him call for Porter, then a moment later, the sound of an engine roared to life.

Trent turned his gaze to Cole. “What the absolute fuck is the matter with you?”

“Nothing,” Cole grumbled.

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Trent said. “We already talked about this on the way to North Crest, so be straight and tell me what’s going on with you.”

“He’s right,” I said, glaring at him the same way Trent was. “You’ve been acting weird since Langston showed up this morning. What the hell is this all about?”

Cole refused to look at us. He kept his head down, jaw muscles ticking as he ground his teeth together. His silence told Trent and me all we needed to know.

Trent shook his head in disappointment, looking at Cole like he’d let him down in some way. I wish I could have only felt disappointed, but I was so damn irritated with Cole. I’d called in friends to help us save our son, and all Cole could do was butt heads with them and act like another wolf had come to piss on his territory. I understood that he was upset—I was upset, too—but his behavior was pointless, childish, and ridiculous. My sympathy for him was evaporating and becoming harder and harder to find the longer he was acting like this.

“You’re acting like a spoiled kid,” Trent said. “Is this some sort of alpha thing?”

“I don’t think that’s it,” I said, and Cole raised his head to look at me. I scanned his face. “Is your wolf jealous?”

Cole glanced away and clenched the back of the couch, his knuckles turning white. More silence. Though, like last time, that was answer enough.

“Langston, Porter, and Zayde are here to help save our son, Cole,” I said, some venom seeping into my tone. We didn’t have time for this bullshit. “You need to get your head out of your ass and let them help you. Forget this jealousy or whatever has gotten up your ass, and do what’s right for Ashton.”

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